Fried green beans are one of my all time favorite appetizers! Crispy, crunchy and SO GOOD dunked in whatever creamy dip you love (we love homemade remoulade sauce!)
Fried green beans is such a fun appetizer, I can spot them on a restaurant menu in a nanosecond. The beans are tender and meaty, the crust is super crispy ~ and don’t even get me started on the dipping sauce, there are so many to choose from! With an appetizer this enticing it just makes sense to learn to make it at home. And no, you don’t need a deep fryer to do this, a regular pot and a few inches of vegetable oil works perfectly. Just grab yourself a bunch of fresh green beans, and a bottle of beer ~ this is going to be good!
what you’ll need to make fried green beans
- green beans
- all purpose flour
- I also like to use half all-purpose and half corn meal. Experiment with a gluten free baking mix, a combination of rice flour and cornstarch, or chickpea flour for gluten free fried green beans.
- cold beer
- any type you like, including non-alcoholic beer or even seltzer water.
- vegetable oil
- kosher salt
what’s a healthy oil for frying?
For deep frying you want an oil than can withstand high temperatures. That means it has a high smoke point and is stable when heated. According to healthline some great choices for deep frying are coconut oil, olive oil, and peanut oil. According to Medical News Today, olive oil is the best choice. Other oils often cited as healthy choices for deep frying are avocado oil, canola oil, and safflower oil.
don’t forget the dipping sauce!
I made a delicious homemade remoulade sauce for my beans, but there are so many yummy sauces to choose from…
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Basil Mayo
- Aioli
- Tzatziki Dip
- Caesar Dressing
- Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
- Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
- Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Spicy Basil Pesto
- Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing
- Strawberry Barbecue Sauce
- Maple Mustard Sauce
how to make fried green beans, step by step
Deep frying doesn’t have to be a big production. Grab a pot, and add a couple of inches of oil. An instant read thermometer helps to know when your oil is at the optimum temperature for frying: 350F.
step 1. Begin heating vegetable oil in a pot.
2-3 inches is all you need. Heat the oil until it reaches 350F.
step 2. Whisk together flour and beer
A bottle of cold beer and some flour makes this easy batter.
step 3. Fry the beans until crisp and golden
Fry the battered green beans, in batches, until golden and crispy, about 2 minutes.
step 4. Drain on paper towels
Drain the fried beans on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.
step 5. Dip, crunch, repeat!
Serve up your beans asap with your favorite dipping sauce.
vary it up
Keep it alcohol free by using non-alcoholic beer or sparkling water instead of beer.
Go half and half with cornmeal and flour for the batter.
Use a gluten free flour mix in place of all-purpose wheat flour, and choose a gluten free beer, or use seltzer water.
I don’t add any seasoning to my batter except salt and pepper, but go ahead and add some smoked paprika or Cajun seasoning if you like.
Sprinkle the hot beans with Parmesan cheese.
can you make fried green beans in an air fryer?
I know we all love our air fryers, but beer battered green beans and other wet battered foods are not good candidates for air frying. There are some workarounds for larger foods like fried fish, but for green beans, if you want to use an air fryer I recommend dunking your beans in buttermilk and then in cornmeal or seasoned flour.
For no fry crispy green beans try my baked Zucchini Parmesan Crisps recipe ~ just substitute the beans for zucchini.
more crispy appetizers!
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Beer Battered Fried Mushrooms
- Fried Olives with Spicy Yogurt
- Healthy Zucchini Fries
- Guinness Beer Battered Onion Rings
- Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
- Crispy Crab Balls
Fried Green Beans
Equipment
- shallow pot or skillet for frying
- instant read thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
- vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
- 12 ounces cold beer
Instructions
- Wash and dry beans, then trim the stem ends off. Make sure your beans are completely dry before frying.
- Fill a pot or skillet with 2-3 of inches of oil. Heat the oil to 350F.
- While the oil is heating add the flour to a pie plate or similar shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Then whisk in the cold beer slowly to make a thin batter, about the consistency of pancake batter. If your batter seems too thin, add a bit more flour. If it gets too thick add more beer.
- Drop the beans in the batter, and then into the hot oil. Work in small batches so you don't crowd them in the pan. They will fry to golden in about 2 minutes. I toss them around as they fry to get them evenly golden. Note: between batches remove any stray bits of fried batter from the oil as they can burn and impart a bitter flavor.
- Drain fried beans on paper towels and shower lightly with kosher salt.
- Serve the beans right away, with your favorite dipping sauce.
- Got leftovers? Reheat in a low 325F oven until hot.
Nutrition
*disposing of cooking oil responsibly
For small amounts of used cooking oil from shallow frying, you can follow these disposal methods.
- Allow it to cool: Let the cooking oil cool down completely after frying.
- Strain and store: Strain the cooled oil through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove any food particles. You can then store the strained oil in a container with a tight-fitting lid for future use or disposal.
- Recycle: Check if there are any recycling programs in your community that accept used cooking oil. Some places have drop-off locations or services that collect and recycle cooking oil for eco-friendly purposes.
- Dispose in the trash: If recycling options are not available, dispose of the small amount of cooled and strained cooking oil in the trash. Use a sturdy, leak-proof container, and make sure it is sealed properly before throwing it away. Tip: buy the size bottle that you’ll need for one project, then you can return the used oil to the same bottle and dispose of it in the trash.
Excellent, couldn’t be easier or tastier. Very nice with a french onion dip. I fried longer for more crunch. I also tried to fry with less oil. Thx
Thanks Mark ~ my mouth is watering!